Consociationalism
As consociationalism a type of popular rule is called, which aims to introduce a large number of actors ( political parties, associations, minorities, social groups ) to be included in the political process and make decisions through consensus-building. Consequently, playing the majority rule as a decision-making mechanism is no central role in the political system. The counter-model to the concordance democracy is called a competitive democracy or majority democracy. The term concordance democracy, which finds in everyday language, especially in Switzerland, use was made in the late 1960s as a fruitful social science technical term mainly by Gerhard Lehmbruch in German and Arend Lijphart in English ( " consociational democracy" ). Lijphart identifies six elements of the definition: large multi-party governments, cultural autonomy, proportionality of the authorities, protection of minorities, social segmentation and elite cooperation. It differs in concordance democracies because of 10 indicators between unitarian and federal consensus.
Pure forms of concordance democracy or majority democracy does not exist. In Europe, the political system in Luxembourg is considered pronounced consociational, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria have reported or consociational democratic movement down. The political system of Germany is considered to be hybrid between concordance and competitive democracy. Within Germany, North Rhine -Westphalia is considered state with a strong consociational tradition.
Concordance democracy in Switzerland
Switzerland's concordance is not - such as the account of the various parts of the country - is entered by its Constitution, but rather slowly for decades, by the in Switzerland pronounced protection of minorities - resp emerged - recognizable by the right of referendum or the cantons. been further developed as a result of the referendum threat.
The Government of Switzerland, the Federal Council consists of seven members. In 1943, with Ernst Nobs, the first Socialist Federal Council was elected, all the main parties were involved in the government. His successor, the Social Democrat Max Weber, however, came in 1953 after losing a referendum on the financial reform back, and the Social Democratic Party was again in opposition. 1959 Following the resignation of four federal parliament for so-called magic formula, in which the main parties were represented in the seven-member Federal Council according to her former weight: two seats each received FDP, CVP, and SP, a BGB, the predecessor of the SVP. This party composition remained unchanged until 2003. The four governing parties reached in the elections of 19 October 2003, a voter share of 81.6 percent and together occupy together 217 of the 246 seats in the Federal Assembly, namely 171 out of 200 in the National Council and 46 of 46 in the Senate (as of December 2003).
If the concordance is carried out according to proportional representation, all parliamentarians, their parties - and especially all voters - represented proportionately and can be " on an equal footing " focus on factual arguments and solutions. You can without major upheavals their work before and continue after the elections. Parliamentarians must not differentiate continuously in the working practice in the competitive systems, coalition - opposition to appearances. Also, they do not have, like the governments do not form coalitions after the elections, to seek consuming.
The Swiss concordance democracy aims of their idea forth on stability and continuous development. For a real opposition in parliament, there is no longer a long time. It is also possible in Switzerland at any level, to overthrow the government through a motion of censure from office. Since the Federal Council - as well as the cantonal and municipal governments - a collegial body is, set their seven ministers represented the outward government policy binding, internal majorities, a ruling party may at times go against the government. This, however, and even if the people vote at the ballot box against the opinion of the Government, does not mean that the Federal Council must resign. Each defeated in a vote forces will have to the committee, or subordinate to the people and can determine its next government work through the decisions taken. The concordance requires all members of a strong consensus capability, otherwise the government activity can be blocked.
Possible problems and their solutions
Even in a concordance democracy can cause problems a highly polarizing party politics. On the other hand, there are fears that a non- concordance standing, well-functioning opposition could also sustained block of Switzerland 's political system through a referendum and initiative tide. This led in 1891 to the Government integration of CVP and 1959 for government involvement of the Social Democrats and was a factor in the choice of Christoph Blocher, 2003.
However, there is a tradition of concordance democracy that majority appeal, candidates can not be prevented with formal respect for the concordance by the parliamentary majority instead of the nominated candidates of the party chooses more moderate representatives of the respective party.
Especially frequently it was with the candidates of the SP: So in 1959, nominated by the SP party president Walther Bringolf was not chosen because of its communist past and in its place put Hans-Peter Tschudi in the Bundesrat. 1973 Willi Ritschard was chosen instead of the then party president Arthur Schmid. 1983, when the SP nominated the politician Lilian lamp Hagen as the first woman for the Federal Council, chose the Federal Assembly Otto Stich, but which proved to be so efficient SPD finance minister in retrospect that the bourgeois majority frequently regretted having chosen it.
An uproar there was in 1993, when Christiane Brunner was nominated by the SP, and was elected in their stead Francis Matthey. In the aftermath of the election led to nationwide protests, especially by women, so Matthey renounced the acceptance of the election. In its place, Ruth Dreifuss was elected.
In December 2003, the SVP claimed as now percentage in the National Council ( People's Chamber ), but not in the Senate ( upper house ) largest party a second seat in the Federal Council, Ruth Metzler (CVP ) was not re-elected in favor of Christoph Blocher, to which the Federal relocate two SVP, two FDP, CVP one - and two SP members composed. This was justified by the transition from the content to the numerical concordance.
The Federal Council elections in 2007, Eveline Widmer- Schlumpf was elected to replace the incumbent SVP Bundesrat Blocher as " explosive candidate " by a run of the Grisons SP National Andrea Hämmerle strategy; she participated in the election against the will of their party leadership and the SVP Group. The SVP closed in sequence to those already re-elected SVP Federal Councillor Samuel Schmid and Widmer -Schlumpf from participating in the group and declared the " going into opposition ," had been elected to two nominated by the party candidate in the Bundesrat. While the SVP Group itself and many commentators this evaluated abroad as a collapse of the concordance system, saw Swiss MPs from all other parties maintained the concordance in the new constellation and even strengthened content.
Even within the SVP of course was in the opposition of radical Zurich and Ostschweizer wing not undisputed - the more moderate Bern and Grisons cantonal parties SVP talked to "their" locally very popular federal councilors, and staff involved in cantonal concordance systems incumbent government councils of the SVP were a radical opposition politics very skeptical about. As a result, local sections called for a resumption of the incumbent SVP Federal Councils in the group, others a party exclusion. On 1 June 2008, the Central Committee of the SVP Switzerland joined the SVP Grisons, including the corresponding cantonal section to Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer -Schlumpf, from. You and other more moderate SVP politician then founded the BDP.
In the Federal election 2008, longstanding SVP President Ueli Maurer was to replace the resigned Samuel Schmid chosen, so that the SVP back into government and the opposition has ended.
For the Federal election 2011, which, inter alia, the question of the re-election of Eveline Widmer -Schlumpf was at the center, the concept of concordance to the subject of various interpretations was. As had been taken at the national elections in autumn 2011 alongside the BDP with the Green Party ( GLP ) is a more centrist party collection in the National Council, complained representatives of CVP, BDP and GLP this seat of the BDP as their common and demanded that the FDP, which in had lost the elections significantly votes, would be selling their second seat to the SVP Federal Council, which was rejected by SVP and FDP.
Comparison with competitive democracy
The distinction between competitive and concordance democracy examined the political scientist Arend Lijphart in his study "Patterns of Democracy ." He put on ten criteria which a concordance, respectively. a majority democracy make. These two ideal types he presented in his further research with respect to each other and found that the concordance democracy no less efficient, but is more representative than the majority democracy. He seems superior to classify the concordance democracy than majoritarian democracy. Also, worth mentioning is the distinction between consensus and concordance. The consensus democracy striving for power-sharing, the concordance democracy, however, they require and prescribe that this all important groups are considered.
Frequently, the term consensus democracy is equated with concordance democracy. Examining the interaction of political forces, one speaks rather of concordance democracy ( as an alternative model here the competitive democracy ). If, however, the way of reaching a consensus chosen as a distinguishing feature, use the concepts of consensus democracy and majoritarian democracy.